Scoreboard

Men clip Falcons for 11th straight win

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Men clip Falcons for 11th straight win

ANCHORAGE – Taylor Rohde scored 18 points and Mario Gill nearly recorded a double-double Saturday to lift the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team to a 78-61 victory over Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference showdown at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (12-3, 4-0 GNAC) also got 10 points and eight assists – both career-highs – from junior point guard Steve White as they matched the third-longest streak in school history with their 11th straight victory.

The Falcons (8-4, 2-2 GNAC) were led by 18 points from guard Jeff Downs, while point guard David Downs delivered 12 points and seven assists in his first start filling in for Chris Banchero. SPU was playing its first full game without Banchero, the reigning GNAC Player of the Year, who was injured Thursday against Alaska Fairbanks.

UAA never trailed in the 58th encounter between the longtime rivals, using a 13-0 run midway through the first half to take control. White came off the bench to spark the spurt, accounting for 10 straight points with two three-pointers, a short jumper in the lane and an assist on Travis Thompson's 18-footer.

Thompson, a freshman from Anchorage's Dimond High, finished with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting (3-4 3FG) in 14 minutes off the bench. Meanwhile, Gill had 12 points on 4-of-7 three-point marksmanship and tied his career-high with nine rebounds for the second straight game. Neither player committed a turnover as the Seawolves posted a 24-to-9 assist-turnover ratio.

UAA led 31-18 at halftime and widened its advantage to 45-28 on Brandon Walker's three-pointer at the 14:57 mark of the second half. SPU followed with a furious comeback, however, knocking down treys on four straight possessions – including two by Jeff Downs – to slice it to 47-40 less than two minutes later.

Leading 49-42, Walker nailed another three and Lonnie Ridgeway followed with a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to 12 points. Gill then sank a straight-away trey at the 8:25 mark to start a 14-0 Seawolf run that put the game away.

Walker dished five assists without a turnover and scored all 11 of his points after halftime to help UAA to its widest margin of victory over SPU since an 88-66 win in 1998-99, when both teams were members of the Pacific West Conference.

Rohde also did most of his damage after the break, scoring 15 points in the second half and grabbing five rebounds. The Seawolves' leading scorer shot 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 5 at the free-throw line to post his 13th consecutive double-digit effort.

White, meanwhile, shot 4 of 5 from the field and notched his career-high assist total without committing a turnover. The Manly, Australia, native has now averaged 5.5 assists through the first four league games.

UAA – the only remaining unbeaten in the GNAC – returns to the road next week to visit GNAC newcomer Simon Fraser (Thur., Jan. 13) and Western Washington (Sat., Jan.15). Both contests start at 6 p.m. AST and can be heard live in the Anchorage area on FM-93.7 KAFC.


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Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

G
6' 3"
Freshman
Brandon Walker

#22 Brandon Walker

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Steve White

#14 Steve White

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Mario Gill

#2 Mario Gill

G
6' 2"
Junior
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

F/C
6' 9"
Junior
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

G
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

6' 3"
Freshman
G
Brandon Walker

#22 Brandon Walker

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Steve White

#14 Steve White

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Mario Gill

#2 Mario Gill

6' 2"
Junior
G
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

6' 9"
Junior
F/C
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

6' 1"
Freshman
G